Darkness
by In-discretion-lies-truth
Summary: She can't escape her destiny, he can't escape his eternity. One locked into a life that was chosen for her, the other locked in vampire prison for a life he chose himself. After a chance meeting, will they accept their fate or fight against it?
1. Chapter 1

She stopped, and looked wide eyed at her surroundings. Never did it cross her mind that this was the place father was taking her too. It was heard about only in vampire fiction and tall tales of survival through senile individuals. It was practically impossible for one to walk freely here, especially if that one was human. But Elena Gilbert was the exception to most vampire rules and regulations, one being that she was born genetically and physically to one of the vampire originals.

Bought up as royalty among the supernatural world, she was created to carry on Jonathan Gilbert's legacy and keep his blood line in complete control of the vampire world; made possible by an extremely powerful witch who sought her freedom after an impossible deal was made with another of the originals – Elijah. John, Elijah and Klaus each ruled one third of the world and within their piece of geography lay rules bound by them and expected to be upheld by the vampires that lived there. The originals had minions and loyal followers all over and if not followed the said vampire who committed sin will be bought here, to the vampire prison Elena was currently standing in.

She looked through the hood of her black robe at her father as he strode beside her, he looked determined and obviously powerful and she wondered by he had asked her to accompany him here, by the sounds of it they were staying at least a week and this wasn't the sort of place Elena would like to be. She hated violence, suffering, blood and vampires – John was intent on turning her after she had born him a grandson but she often wondered if he doubted her ability to survive the lifestyle and had thought of disowning her instead. She knew he loved her enough to let her go and live a full life if that was her wish. Jonathan Gilbert's one true downfall was the love for his human daughter and she hated herself for causing him so much worry and concern.

Jonathan stopped at a pair of large black gates and sniffed suspiciously. The gates held a strong odour he would identify anywhere.

"Vervain." He uttered to the two vampire guards behind them, and pulled out his mobile to make a call. Despite being old, John prided himself on keeping up with the times and he was right into the 21st century. Two minutes later they were being led through the gates and down a corridor by a blonde vampire who had introduced himself as Clive.

Clive looked to be in his thirties, with a muscular body and strong looking arms. Dressed in black pants and a tight grey tank top; Elena thought he was beautiful and despised that seemingly all beautiful men were nasty controlling selfish vampires. Her father was the only vampire that she held respect for, as he did business fairly and led his people well. She highly disliked any and all vampires she had come in contact with, and although disappointing to her father she had no vampire friends or relatives. Her best friends were human, one being a witch and the other a normal human neither knowing how important she was or who she would one day be if she chose to turn, and she liked it that way.

John turned to Elena and sighed, picking up on her thoughts even through the vervain necklace he had given her to keep her safe, a handy trick the originals had gained. "Elena, I need to attend to some business, can I trust you to keep out of trouble for a few minutes? Your guards will be within hearing distance at all times."

She snapped out of her thoughts and processed what he said "You're leaving me? In this place of all paces! Father I am just human, and there are a lot of hungry law breaking vampires around here." She was annoyed and upset he bought her here only to disregard her upon entering.

"They're in cages Elena." He rolled his eyes and turned to go "Be careful dear, and remember to be polite!" And with that he was gone, using his supernatural speed to withdraw from the oncoming argument.

She huffed and noticed herself to be completely alone, the two guards having removed themselves also to avoid her complaint of invasion of space. She looked around wondering what to do, it didn't seem like there was much to do here at all, ugh awful place she thought and instantly regretted coming. Noticing a corridor to her right she started forward and walked down it, noting that it appeared to be leading underground, the smell was dank and musty and she hoped her vampire guards had decided to ignore her space wishes and follow at a close distance in case something did happen.

As she walked, Elena was startled to see cages upon cages lining the growing corridor; they couldn't have been bigger than a dogs cage and she squinted in the light to notice bodies curled up inside.

What the hell.

Elena noticed movement to her left and gasped suddenly as a rouge vampire was snapping at the bars of the cage, eyes wild and fangs bared desperate to get a taste of her blood. She noticed smoke rising from his hands on the cage and realised they must be coated in vervain, a thought of sympathy flittered quickly through her mind, as evil as some vampires were she didn't think they deserved this kind of treatment.

"Back away quickly and leave, it's cruel to tempt us you know." She heard a voice drawl from behind her and looking into one of the small dirty cages she encountered the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. They were tainted by hunger and anger though, and weren't as beautiful as they had the potential to be given happiness and blood. She felt herself staring into his hate filled eyes for a little too long and could almost sense the turmoil and pain he was feeling.

"In case you didn't understand, that means fuck off! God knows what a human is doing here anyway; did you escape from the feeding pen?" He chuckled darkly while she glared at him, the rouge vampire longing for her blood had withdrawn into the far corner of his cage, gritting his teeth together and growling lightly bathing his wounds. The blue eyed vampire looked without energy to move, aside from his taunt and looking around Elena noticed they all looked that way -As if they'd been starved just enough to have no energy but not enough to waste away to the world without pain. Cruel and calculated and it seemed to be for all eternity. She felt a pang of pain for all vampires here, regardless of what they had done, death was better than this. Snapping her attention back to the blue eyed vampire she noticed he was trying to use his last bit of energy to look menacing and tough but somehow she knew he was tired of it and decided to go against her better judgement and attempt to pacify him.

"It's okay...I'm not here to hurt you" She was suddenly shy and uncertain about him, who he was and what he'd done to get himself here was on the top of her list. He certainly had amazing eyes, but that didn't excuse him from his crimes.

He looked at her intently, his gaze harsh and unwavering, as if he was trying to figure her out. His clothes were ripped and dirty, his face and body probably hadn't seen a shower for many many years. She doubted whether he had many visitors either. It seemed the cruellest form of punishment, entrapment with an eternity of being stuck in a small cage allowing only as much room as it took to sit up.

"I thought I told you to leave." He rolled his blue eyes and glared at her attempting to understand what exactly she was doing.

"Excuse me for not listening" She retorted, annoyance seeping into her tone.

"Elena Gilbert! Come back here right this instance or I swear to god I will rip someone to shreds!" The angry tone of her father drifted through the corridor and into the dungeon, he could have come and got her but preferred to make her do to the walk of shame back to him.

The blue eyes widened in surprise before being carefully concealed once again "Run along to Daddy Elena." He mocked, spitting out her name as if it were a curse. She gave him one last look before turning and walking back from where she came, knowing another lecture about her carelessness was in the cards but throughout it, certain piercing blue eyes wouldn't leave her mind and questions swirled around incessantly.

**A/N: Congratulations if you made it this far! I don't know if I will continue this, maaaybe! It was just something I quickly jotted down. Let me know if you think it's worth continuing! I haven't read the books, just watched the episodes. The original thing with John is weird, I know haha. x**


	2. Chapter 2

Elena sat inside her room at the prison seething with anger; her father had 'forbidden' her to leave the room due to 'safety issues'.

_Safety issues... are you freaking kidding me, the whole 'human in the vampire prison' thing had safety issues written all over it from day one John! _

Her thoughts were angry and disjointed. She wanted to leave the horrible place where vampires were treated worse than scum, she had heard them hissing in pain during her fitful and unruly sleep last night and imagined the starving vampire leaping at the bars to get to her. Nightmares had prevailed, stripping her of any logical thought process the next day; which led to her current predicament, an idea forming in her head to somehow escape her guards via the widow and down to the blue eyed vampire who had captured her attention and pushed her buttons the day before. He had seemed so different to the vampires she expected to be in a prison, snarky and mocking perhaps but not worthy of this undesirable imprisonment, even the rouge who had wanted a bite of her seemed to be only lost to the blood lust rather than completely evil. How is it that vampires in prison for committing unheard of sins could begin to change her negativity about the vampire population in general?

She finished tying her bed sheets together, and hoped it was long enough for her to sashay down; three floors were just high enough for her to get seriously hurt if she misjudged anything. Before she could begin her mission, low growls and angry snarls assailed her ears and she looked fixedly out the window as a train of around twelve vampires were being led out of the corridor she had been down the day before. They appeared to be chained around the neck and feet with vervain soaked chains, smoke rising in small puffs from the burns they were making, some were even being dragged -obviously too weak to walk the small journey across.

Clive was at the head of the line, and Elena saw even from her high position that hate filled his eyes, glancing across she noticed the vampire who had enchanted her mind was second in the row, the one who had snapped at her third. Of course the prison retained special glass protecting all those inhabiting it from the dangers of the sun. She was surprised she hadn't noticed earlier that there was sun all around but not one single vampire had yet to be turned into a crisp.

What was going on? Her attention snapped back to the 'safety issue' in front of her, vaguely wondering if her father knew this was happening today and that was why she was to stay in her room, after all starving vampires and inquisitive humans didn't mix.

"All right, listen up! I'm going to say this once and only once! I want information on the rebels in the North! Those who answer get a pint of blood. Those who don't, get a special punishment." He smirked, apparently relishing that idea. Elena was astonished to think that just yesterday she had called him _beautiful_. She was worried about the vampires out there, they didn't look like they had enough energy to go through with this, and she started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when Clive produced a hose from behind his back.

"This dear friends, isn't regular water. Inside this hose is vervain liquid, and as we all know class – vervain is extremely toxic to vampires." She saw many vampires attempt to move away only to get knocked down forcefully by the guards standing by. She watched blue eyes intently, he didn't appear afraid only defiant. He was weak though, occasionally losing his balance and flinching against the obvious pain caused by the shackles, she began to stress and her heart rate climbed as Clive pushed the first vampire into the questioning area. After getting the necessary information, the vampire was led back to the chambers, but not before having his eyes ripped out by Clive as a warning to produce the information faster next time. Elena shrank against her bed with tears in her eyes at the behaviour being exerted in front of her. She didn't think she could watch the one she had talked to be treated like this, it was causing an immense pain in her stomach and her teeth were ground together anxiously.

The vampire was tugged forward by the chain around his neck, earning a sharp hiss at the vervain but his defiant posture remained as he smirked at Clive. Clive smirked back before back handing him across the face, sending him flying into the dust.

"Don't look at me like that scum! I have the power to utterly destroy you, if you want any blood for the next two months start talking!" He glared as the vampire got up and turned to face him, blood dripping from his mouth. Elena whimpered and shut her eyes, unable to process the perfect image she retained from her convenient position. The vampire must have heard her, as he quickly glanced up at her window, a smirk gracing his lips, before looking back at Clive.

"That's for me to know, and you to... dot...dot...dot" His reply was cocky, given his weak state but Clive was quicker and suddenly the vampire was writhing on the ground covered in the spray from the hose. His screams filled the air and the other vampires shrunk back in fear, aside from one who gained energy and pulled the vampire away.

"Leave my brother alone! I'll give you the information you need, just stop it!" Elena uncovered her eyes, and to her surprise tears were flowing down her cheeks. The noise of his screams echoed in her head and she couldn't stop the real life video from playing out in front of her. He was on the ground, burnt and writhing in pain. The one who protected him; it was the vampire who had lusted after her blood in the cage opposite him, brothers? She was taken back, and watched as the defiant blue eyed vampire was dragged across into a tunnel she hadn't been through before.

"You better have something useful Salvatore or your brother will be in confinement for a long, long time. Now get talking!" He was roughly pulled toward Clive before Elena had decided she'd had enough and couldn't handle watching anymore. She had to find the vampire she had talked to yesterday and make sure he wasn't being tortured or interrogated in a greater extent; she didn't understand why but she felt a pull toward him, drawing her in and making her lust for more knowledge. She felt certain he had seen her in the window and deflected on purpose. Who was he before this, and what was he hiding?

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or favourited and alerted! I'm still unsure of whether to continue... I'm not a writer at all; I don't feel like I'm doing an accurate job compared to others on here! If you want to leave me a review letting me know what you think, it'd be greatly appreciated. I was a little bit lost on how to bring Damon and Elena back together again, since she's being watched over so much. Any ideas? Thanks again! xxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

As Elena crept down the dark, damp corridor she began to question just how easy it had been to get to this point and why no vampire had stopped her on her mini mission. Her father was still MIA, and she found it disturbing that he'd left her here and apparently off on his own mission with not a thought of his teenage daughter. The guards had not been hard to convince that it was time to feed, and Elena had slipped out of her room unnoticed, intent on her newfound interest.

The cages down this corridor were bigger, the size of a human prison, yet they were all empty and there were no guards down this end at all. She had walked into the corridor in full view of several others but no-one noticed her or seemed to care, the prison here appeared extremely lax about outsiders, that or it was because she was an originals daughter.

She kept walking, unrelentingly sure that this was the corridor he was dragged down. Finally, nearing the end she saw a cage that wasn't empty, a body was lying on its side facing the wall away from her and she could tell by the burns and cuts covering it that it was the vampire she sought.

She stopped at the cage, unsure of how to approach the situation or if he was even lucid, the vervain must have caused an immense amount of pain and due to the low blood supply he would be healing extremely slow, if at all. She was saddened by the sight before her, deep gashes ran along his back and legs and the burns from the vervain were open despite it being a number of hours since the attack, it appeared the healing process was happening to an almost nonexistent extent.

"Come to tempt me some more?" A weak voice bought her out of her thoughts and she snapped her head towards it, feeling a slight chill go through her body.

"I came to see if you were alright actually" Her reply was short and she suddenly wondered why she was here, after all she barely knew the vampire and he obviously had a distain for humans.

He coughed slightly; it was a harsh wheezing cough that sick people made when they were dying.

"I'm fine and dandy, _obviously_. It was rather enjoyable to be the centre of attention out there" The sarcastic voice slowly turned around to face her, and she wished he hadn't. His once beautiful face was marred and jagged, and his expression was one of pain, although he was desperately trying to hide it with amusement.

"Elena Gilbert" He stated, eyes narrowing slightly. "I am somewhat worried for your current mental state; it appears you have been chasing after a dangerous criminal vampire, whatever will daddy say?" He began to sit up against the wall and she began to creep closer, wrapping her hands around the bars and pushing her forehead against the hard cold metal; but before she could reply he began again baring his fangs warningly.

"I wouldn't do that, I may look like a pile of shit at the moment but I'm still a very dangerous and hungry vampire; snapping your neck and draining you of all your blood is a very real impulse right now, in fact..."

He blurred to become face to face with her, panting hard and eyes dark. "I'm not entirely sure why I haven't yet" His fangs were long and the red deepened around his eyes. "It would be so easy to just reach out and..." His hands stretched through the bars and around her neck, tightening slightly.

Elena was panting hard, her heat was racing and as she stared into his hungry eyes she realised she was about to die; she lost the ability to breathe and her panic increased, struggling to get free was useless but she still attempted it thrashing about in horror.

As her hands closed over his in an attempt to release them from her neck, he blurred back to his original position, facing away from her and breathing heavily, hands against the wall and body shaking violently. She fell backward onto the damp concrete, landing heavily on her left wrist which took the brunt of her fall. She sat there in shock, cradling her wrist and sucking in each precious breath of air, tears silently streaking down her face.

He could have killed her, in fact he was so close she could almost see the white light that would guide her, however something had stopped him and even in his blood frenzy state he had managed to pull himself away no matter how beneficial her blood would have been to him, it would have healed him of his pain yet he had let her go, on some level she was grateful knowing the sacrifice he had just made of the only source of blood for months on end.

After what seemed like hours, the vampire turned around and gazed at her curiously, his face had returned to normal although underneath the blood and cuts he was extremely pale. His gaze intensified when he spied the wrist she cradled protectively and the tears now drying on her face.

"Dearest Elena, didn't daddy warn you not to play with the prison inmates?" He mocked gently.

Elena stared at him silently, he had obvious mental problems himself, probably a psychopath who fed on the fear of others. Elena felt stupid for wanting to know him, when all he wanted was to hurt her.

"Especially one such as Damon Salvatore" He continued his voice low and his eyes wondering up to meet hers, "Pleasure to meet you."

**A/N: Thank you so much to those who reviewed! Please, keep the thoughts and ideas flowing, I love hearing them! Reviews really did make me so happy and inspired me to continue on with this story! So please keep them coming!**


	4. Chapter 4

He was sitting against the cold wall now, over exertion of energy had obviously caught up with him. He was staring at her, blue intensified into brown as she matched his stare; still in shock at what had just occurred. And they sat, for several minutes in silence; her heavy breathing and his scuffling to get comfortable the only sounds made in the dark dingy corridor.

"You didn't kill me" She stated warily, eyeing him suspiciously at the fact.

"Ugh, don't remind me" He scoffed, rolling his amazing blue eyes upward "I_ really_ wish I had". It was simple honesty in its truest form and for some strange reason she had never been more grateful.

Elena realised she had been sitting in shock on the dirty ground for well over five minutes, and shuddered at the horror that had to have taken place down this very corridor, the horror that was due to take place to the vampire in front of her. It was inhumane – rightly so for those inhuman but even by vampire standards this place could not be 'legal'. Her father must have observed the conditions, why had he not taken action?

Paused in her thinking, she was slightly startled to notice Damon was examining her quietly. She rubbed her neck subconsciously, anxious that no marks would bear witness to her escapade in the cells. He quirked an eyebrow at the action but made no move, his eyes glued to her neck and she wasn't entirely sure if it was out of guilt or the intense desire for her blood.

"So you decided to endanger your life again today – mission accomplished Elena you can go now" His voice was a welcome distraction to the silence, but it was quiet and weaker than his earlier comments, she knew he was rapidly losing energy and that the pain of his injuries must be wearing him down. She risked a look into his eyes again, they had taken on a steel appearance – he was obviously bracing himself for the worst to come and for some reason it was almost killing her. Ironic given he had physically almost killed her less than ten minutes ago.

Her mind had resolved itself, and she knew she wanted to help him. He had spared her life, it was the least she could do. Staring straight into his eyes, hoping she could relieve the burden that was his existence, she made her choice.

"Don't go _anywhere_" She said, getting up from her position on the floor. Stiff and sore, it was a hard task and extremely ungraceful, Elena cursed her humanness for the first time in her life.

"Darn; I really was fancying that trip to Canada" He rolled his eyes at her again, "Who said I enjoyed your company anyway?" The weak teasing only made her sad, and she gave him one last look before heading back the way she came, a new mission that she was intent on succeeding planted firmly in her head.

Several minutes later, she had made it successfully out of the corridor and back to the building that housed her; she knew her father had bought blood with him as he was currently trying once again to feed off only blood bags, at Elena's insistence of course.

John _really_ disliked anything that wasn't 'fresh' but was willing to try the bagged variety, time and time again for his daughter's happiness. She knew he never killed the humans he fed off, but the thought terrified her and she had been begging him to change the habit since she was old enough to understand. It was much like a human diet though; very difficult to change once mastered into a habit hence the slight slip-ups every now and again.

Slipping into the unneeded kitchen, Elena found what she was looking for. It was much like a portable wine container humans used, although this was certainly not red wine. Taking a glass she filled it a little, careful not to take too much as John would undoubtedly notice. Once a satisfactory amount had been poured she closed the fridge and crept out, realising the creeping would have no effect on any vampires listening for her return. Her guard's usually took well over two hours to feed so she still had at least one hour left to return to Damon.

Damon. _Damon Salvatore_. She felt the name was familiar somewhere, she had heard it mentioned in passing when her father had been in meetings but could not recall the context in which. Filing that away for later, she crept carefully through the house willing the entrance to be closer.

Elena Gilbert, vampire hater and daughter of Jonathan Gilbert, vampire original; was attempting to sneak blood into a criminal's cell! If someone had predicted these circumstances two days ago, she would have laughed outright, Elena Gilbert does not concern herself with vampire matters and she thought she never would. So why start now? Even she was at a complete loss as to why this vampire had drawn her complete attention.

By the time she reached the door, her heart was pounding. Where were all the vampires that occupied the prison? She hadn't even encountered Clive on her almost-suicide mission and she knew he would be doing rounds. What the heck was going on? Perhaps it was just her lucky day she reasoned, and made the dash to the corridor Damon was down.

Walking back down the same dark, dingy corridors she felt a shiver go through her body. This place really was horrid and she hoped to never come back again; she wondered how long Damon had been here and what horrors he had endured. She smiled a little though, happy to be able to help him -even if he was an ass. He was an ass who spared her life after she stupidly tempted him and she found that honourable, a likable trait in a race she despised.

Rounding the slight corner that led to the cell Damon was imprisoned in; she gasped in shock and almost dropped the cup she was carefully carrying.

There was blood splattered around the cell - perhaps signs of a weak struggle; the gate-like door was wide open like many of the other cells and it was completely _empty_. Feeling tears of frustration begin to build up she looked around hopelessly and suddenly spied something on the ground, it was round and had a slight glint to it, bending down to take a closer look she realised something.

It was a ring.

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far. It really really means alot to me and it inspired me to write another chapter. I know there wasn't much action but they are definitely going to take things slow.**

**Once again, thanks so much to all reviewers! **


	5. Chapter 5

Elena looked at the ring in horror, it was large and bulky and she could see the lapis lazuli stone which protected vampires from the sun firmly engraved into it. She recognized it as her father and the other originals wore one similar; Damon must have lost it during the suspected struggle possibly only moments before and although he would be protected while on the prison grounds, if he were to somehow leave he'd burn to a much more permanent death. The tears threatening to leave her eyes were clouding her vision and her mind, Elena wasn't prepared for a third mission – especially when she hardly knew Damon or what trouble he could be in.

After regaining her previous spot on the floor; although this time in a heap of despair, she was at a loss as to what to do, she had wanted to help him but now that he was gone she had no idea where he was or who he was with, if it were another vampire she would stand no chance – in fact even if it were a human which was highly unlikely, she would be barely able to put up a worthy fight. Frustration was building inside of her; she didn't understand why this affected her so badly and why the disappointment was threatening to overpower her.

Elena weighed up her options – on one hand her guards would be returning very shortly and would immediately alert her father if she wasn't safely in her room, or at the very least inside the house. Yet on the other, Damon could be in trouble; and although she hated to admit it – he intrigued her. Besides, her father obviously didn't care enough to let her know where he was, or have anything in place to keep her entertained after subsequently bringing her here and then dumping her in her makeshift room like a naughty child.

The questions and problems swirled around in her head as she sat once again on the dirty, disgusting ground. It was cold and hard and despite being strong willed, with an even stronger sense of self sacrifice the situation was definitely nothing she'd encountered before and the cons of looking for Damon definitely outweighed the pros. If she could even find him, what would she do then? And in a place that was _usually_ crawling with vampires, if she came face to face with one would they think twice before draining her?

While thinking, she managed to catch a glimpse of the blood in the cell, blood that Damon couldn't possibly have afforded to lose. At this, she decided she had to at least look for him; she could deal with anything else along the way. After all, she was reasonably safely protected in the knowledge that her father was one of_ the_ originals, under his name she should be safe unless the vampire she encountered was interested in suicidal tendencies.

Her mind told her that now was not a time for the weak, and to carry on in the direction she hadn't been yet would be a good start. The faint blood trail was leading that way, although it stopped fairly quickly leading Elena to believe that Damon's new wound hadn't been too deep. She picked herself off the ground, taking the ring with her and fastening it to the necklace her father had given her – if she found Damon he may need it. She slipped it beneath her top away from sight and grabbed the cup of blood she'd discarded beside her, and began the journey into the unknown.

The corridor expanded fairly quickly, and the cells began to cease. It was just a long dark corridor now. Elena shivered, as her shaky legs kept pacing forward, refusing to give up. She missed her father, and her two best friends Caroline and Bonnie. She would rather be anywhere else, except in this place walking down a deserted scary corridor with nothing to protect herself. Willing her tired body forward, Elena saw that the path stopped at a dead end with an option to either go left or right. She stopped and looked both directions; they were both the same – dreary and lacking light.

Picking the right direction, she eventually encountered a bright light and then further on a balcony which was overlooking a large oval arena she hadn't seen yet. Ah this place was filled with hidden passageways and surprises at the end of each one she mused as she crept closer to the balcony. Suddenly she heard voices and in fright ducked to the ground and stayed as still as possible, hoping she hadn't been heard.

"... I don't care about Katherine! I want to know what the North has been planning, what _you_ have been planning!" It was a strangers voice, it sounded extremely mad and extremely intimidating.

"The prison is being stormed as we speak, thankfully we have magic on our side or else your little band of misfits might have had a chance at whatever they were after. I know they weren't here to rescue you and your pathetic brother over there" The sound of a boot hitting flesh echoed, and a groan soon followed.

Elena was frantically attempting to slow her breathing and think logically about what she was hearing, the groan sounded suspiciously like a Damon groan.

"The werewolves were a nice touch though; I give full credit to that." The voice sneered "I didn't take you out here for a friendly chat, in a fair while I will give permission for my witch to take down the barrier protecting you from the sun. And watch in enjoyment as you both burn painfully and slowly...Unless you provide me with what I want to know!" The voice clapped his hands, and Elena heard the footsteps of another.

"I give Bonnie the will to do to you what she pleases, after what you did to her Grams I don't believe she will take anything lightly." Elena gasped silently, _Bonnie_? She slowly carried herself up, to look hesitantly over the balconies concrete wall and the sight before her terrified and confused her greatly.

The dark haired vampire towing over a lifeless Damon, who appeared to be handcuffed to his brother on the ground, gave a heartless laugh, "I give you two more hours to fess up, by that time the army outside these gates will be thoroughly disposed of; punished painfully and killed for attempting to violate our heavily guarded premises. I shall be seeing you soon Damon." He gave one more kick, a sharp heavy boot to the face which snapped Damon's head back and into the dust, his body and consequently his brothers followed before the satisfied vampire walked in another direction, down another dark tunnel.

Elena bought a fist to her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud, even more so when she looked around and noticed with amazement, her best friend Bonnie Bennett staring with a cold menacing look on her face. Another lady was standing beside her, in silence watching the two vampires with hatred. Suddenly Damon began to cry out, screaming in agony and roaring with rage at the same time, his eyes were shut in pain and his body rigid.

"I should set you on fire and watch you burn myself, vampire" She heard Bonnie say, "You piece of worthless scum!" In all their years of friendship, Elena had never heard such a tone come from Bonnies mouth... wait what on earth was Bonnie even doing here?

This whole situation just became more confusing for Elena. Damon had done something to Bonnies Grams? Werewolves and an attempt to storm the prison? Damon screamed out in pain again, and Elena felt it as if it were her own. He had tears streaming down his face and she knew they probably weren't voluntary. Bonnie was concentrating hard on him, and Elena came to the realization that it was Bonnie causing him such pain! Elena couldn't stand to hear it, and began to run to the other end of the corridor noticing there were stairs in the far left corner of the dusty arena, uncaring of who heard her now and the blood in the cup sloshing around painfully close to spilling.

"Bonnie! Bonnie stop! Please stop!" Elena reached the bottom and ran towards her friend, who now had a circle of flames around the two vampires, and who still had Damon gritting his teeth together in an attempt from crying out, his eyes that of steel and pain.

Bonnie whipped around to face her friend, her face one of incredibility and shock and the flames died instantly.

"_Elena_?" She whispered

"Damon?" Elena was at his side in an instant, ignoring Bonnie for the moment and panting slightly from the adrenalin. He appeared to be barely conscious, lacking the energy to move; hands tightly cuffed behind his back and feet bound together. She looked behind to his brother, who was still unconscious and leaning against Damon's back also handcuffed and feet tied. They looked the picture of those who had been tortured, and apparently Damon's breaking point was soon to be reached.

He opened his eyes slightly, looking up at her betraying no emotion.

"I really did try hard not to go anywhere... this is definitely not Canada." The words were whispered, weak and a half assed attempt to make her smile. She found herself wiping away a stray tear and looked down at the half filled cup of blood.

"I bought you something; better late than never right?" He looked at the cup, which by now had blood running down the sides and looked less than appetizing; and grinned slightly, which quickly turned into a grimace as the pain overcame him, and he slipped into a deep black hole of unconsciousness.

**A/N: I had some spare time... However spare time turned into writing until 3 AM, and possible rambling. I am sorry if this wasn't an enjoyable chapter ****. **

**Thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapter! Ahh makes me so excited to read my emails! Thoughts on this chapter would be appreciated; do I need to rewrite it? Include more D/E interaction? (It IS coming!) Bonnie is there for a reason. Bet no-one expected it though! **

**Review and let me know! Love to you all! Off to bed for me! xx**


	6. Chapter 6

"Damon! Damon wakeup" Elena hissed urgently, afraid his body may have taken too much to handle. She shook him gently, but he was out cold.

"He'll regain consciousness soon Elena, his body will heal slowly." Bonnie whispered from behind her, suddenly confused and afraid that she was doing the wrong thing. Elena turned to face her, with confusion written across her face.

"Bonnie, what are you _doing_ here? You did this to him!" She couldn't help the accusing tone that seeped into her voice as she glared slightly at her best friend.

"Bonnie is with me, although that is none of your business little girl. I suggest you move away from the scum or you may be mistaken for an affiliate and unfortunately have to be taken out." The women beside Bonnie suddenly spoke, her voice was harsh and demanding and Elena shivered in slight apprehension, she could almost feel the unimaginable power behind her words.

"Lucy this is Elena, _my best friend_." Bonnie spat, glaring at the older witch for her rudeness, "Elena meet Lucy, my cousin. She's been helping me gain control and improve my spells... that... that monster killed my Grams!" She pointed toward Damon, "How are you possibly defending him... why are_ you_ even here?" This time it was Bonnie who failed to keep the accusing tone from her voice, as she tried to comprehend the situation. Elena was human; she didn't belong in the world of supernatural.

"Bonnie... I am so sorry about your Grams; I didn't know that's how she died, if I did..." Elena trailed off; remembering how hard Bonnie had taken her death, she hadn't been the same for months... but why would Damon kill a witch? It appeared they had kept far too many secrets from one another, and now Bonnie was going to find out who she really was and hate her forever.

"Enough talk! The vampire will wake up soon and we need answers out of him, Bonnie your training will commence; the fire spell works amazingly well against vampire predators – one of the few things that can kill them, you almost had it before!" Lucy continued her lesson, motioning for Bonnie to join her as she noticed signs that Damon was beginning to wake. "You may give him the blood, just so he can gain enough strength to slowly die" She sneered at Elena in disgust, her small mouth turning up into a smile at the prospect.

Elena gasped, shocked at how cruel this women was, despite what Damon may have done she still knew that he wasn't an evil person; he didn't appear to be hostile or aggressive and he had the chance to kill her and turned it down, although regrettably. There was something about Damon Salvatore that she wanted to protect, she wanted to save him from this undeniably cruel fate; although all factors pointed to a dark past, that he most probably deserved what he got; she just couldn't let the slight hint of vulnerability and humanity go that she'd sensed in him since their very first meeting. He wasn't like the others here, she was sure of it.

The flames started again, slowly morphing into a fiery trail toward the two vampires – who were both in the beginnings of waking from their pain induced slumber. Damon noticed it first, and although everything was hazy the need for survival was strong and overpowering. His body thrashed about, and he attempted to elbow his brother into action. The flames slowly creeping closer as Bonnie concentrated intently, Lucy smiling crazily beside her; that is until Bonnie was knocked sideways into her and both witches stumbled onto the dusty ground, looking up to find Elena glaring at them.

She ran over to the two dazed vampires, and held the cup to Damon's mouth gently as to not aggravate any possible injuries, stroking his hair slightly; his hands still tied impossibly behind his back.

"Drink please" She said simply, looking into his eyes as he took a large gulp before motioning his head towards his brother, she nodded and did the same for the blonde vampire, rationing the small amount in half between them.

"Stefan... my name is Stefan Salvatore. I apologize for snapping at you earlier... in the cells... I find it difficult to control my bloodlust sometimes..." His voice was weak and ashamed, and his green eyes bore into hers, enhancing his apology, "Thank you for your help, Elena."

Damon rolled his eyes and made a gagging sound, clearly unimpressed with his brother's display. Elena smiled in return, surprised at the ability for a vampire to act so human; if she didn't know better she wouldn't have suspected a thing. The blood was obviously working its magic, both vampires were beginning to look a little bit better, less pale and the healing appeared to have sped up.

"Uh... as much as I love the happy introductions of food meeting prey, can you please untie us...? I haven't been able to feel my hands... among other body parts, for an eerily long time..." Damon's voice drifted over to Elena and she left Stefan's side to return to his, catching his gaze and noticing slight gratitude reflected in it. Smiling inside, and choosing to ignore the food comment she began to untie the ropes, which took a slightly long time considering they were expertly tied and she was rather weak.

Every time her hands ghosted over Damon's wrists he felt her tenderness, no-one had touched him with obvious concern for well over a hundred and forty five years, he hadn't let anyone close enough too... but this girl was so close he could catch the scent of her perfume; and hear her mumbling in frustration as the knot wouldn't untie, before reassuring him quietly that everything was going to be okay. She was probably the most amazing human he had ever come across; he had known from their first meeting that she was different – she challenged him.

Just as she was done, the argument apparently going on behind her was pushed to breaking point and Bonnies excuse of Elena being her best friend had lost out to 'family sticks together', and Lucy pushed her aside and turned to face the three. Elena stepped in front of Damon subconsciously, and he smirked inwardly.

"Elena, I need you to move out of the way very quickly; you don't understand the seriousness of the situation... these vampires are extremely lethal, dangerous to you and to us...they need to be incapacitated immediately." Lucy was shaking with anger, and a slight wind was picking up around the arena, dust was flying and it was becoming difficult to see... in the confusion neither vampire picked up on the sixth presence that had joined them, and were both shocked when Elena was pulled away from them and into the hands of a stranger, who grinned at them evilly as the wind dropped.

"Now who has the doppelganger huh boys?" He laughed, and smelt her neck dramatically "Mmm she smells simply delicious! I don't think anyone will mind if I just have a taste..." and with that he bit into her neck as she cried out in pain, her eyes widening in horror as she slowly comprehended the situation. Damon growled angrily, and cursed his weakness. Elena was his human, and he was not letting her get hurt by some rookie. He slammed all of his remaining strength into the vampire... and Elena was dropped into Stefan's waiting arms.

_The bastard_

**A/N: Hehe just a quick update... action happens soon.**

**So basically Lucy is working for a certain vampire at this point, similar to the show. Bonnie is currently following Lucy as she has no-one left to train her, but it is obvious she disagrees to a certain extent. **

**Bonnie never knew Elena came from a world of vampires; they were just regular human friends except recently Bonnie discovered she was a witch which Elena knew about. Bonnies Grams died trying to help Damon get Katherine out of the tomb, but as we all know she wasn't there. Elena wasn't there either this time, obviously lol.**

**Damon and Stefan were on a mission before they got thrown in here... No-one knows what it is yet. Damon is starting to warm up to Elena but at the moment he merely finds her interesting and different, he doesn't know what that means. Elena on the other hand, notices his amazing blue eyes often ;)**

**I hope no-one is confused now. I got the feeling I may confuse people from this rather pointless chapter, it was just a quick update though so don't get too sad! **

**Please review with thoughts! I hope my little explanation helped some of you! xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

Elena felt herself waking up from a sleep she didn't realise she'd taken. Groggy and confused she glanced around her surroundings and realised that perhaps her trips to the cells so often, had resulted in a subconscious thought to become trapped in one. She sat up, realising in this large private cell she had a rather uncomfortable single bed, and two unconscious vampires on the ground next to her.

She breathed a sigh of relief that both brothers were okay, in doing so her head became light and she felt dizzy; suddenly remembering what had happened she put a hand to her neck and became repulsed with the dried blood that was matted there.

_What the hell happened? _She thought, realising she must of passed out after being attacked.

It hurt to think, so she focused her attention upon her new vampire allies. Stefan had seemed so human, even in the face of death. Damon had seemed... cocky and uninterested. He intrigued her so much; she remembered how he had protected her and smiled, happy that she wasn't the only one concerned in keeping the other alive.

Both brothers were extremely different, and she wondered how all three of them had ended up in this cell together...and Bonnie! Elena recalled Bonnie and her cousin Lucy attempting to kill Damon and Stefan. Where had she gone? Was she okay? Elena was extremely confused about the whole situation...her father would come and get her... he would definitely not be okay with her captivity in a cell!

"Ugh... did I drink too much last night or what?" Damon was starting to sit up, a hand to his head and a slightly confused expression on his face as he looked down at Stefan and then up to Elena.

"There's no escaping you huh. I was almost there, you know; right before I was burned alive, but someone just had to interfere." He smirked at her, his eyes betraying his unsaid thanks. Glancing down at his brother, he became annoyed.

"Stefan! Now is not the time to take a nana nap..." He pushed him, rather hard "Get the hell up!"

Stefan opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings... before his expression changed and his eyes grew dark, fangs protruding he sprung at Elena, aiming straight for the dried blood on her neck. She gasped, but was not quick enough to move and as his hands latched onto her shoulders and he pushed her up against the hard concrete wall. As quick as he was, Damon was quicker and Stefan was thrown backwards crashing onto the bars of the cells, an extremely irritated Damon staring down at him.

"Must I remind you; the girl attempted to save your ass, and this is how you repay her? I thought I taught you better than that!" He grinned manically and held him down, digging his hands tightly into Stefan's shoulders and staring straight into his bloodshot eyes, and taking in each panting breathe he looked disgusted.

"I told you drinking from bunnies would have repercussions, but no; big brother doesn't know anything 'coz he drinks human blood...bla bla bla. Well now look who's in complete control and who's not? Any takers? Why yes Stef, I do believe it's me who doesn't want to kill the traumatised little human over there!" He shook his head in disappointment.

"Umm may I remind you, you tried to kill me earlier also...?" Elena was recovering on the bed, and felt horrible seeing the pain and regret etched onto Stefan's face. Watching the two, she saw the amusement flicker across Damon's face as he turned to look at her.

"May I remind you, that I didn't?" He retorted back, and returned to glaring at his brother.

"Are you good now?" Stefan nodded, humiliated and embarrassed and muttered a short apology to Elena before retreating into the corner of the cell, his back to them and his head leaning against the cold concrete.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief and leaned herself against the wall facing Damon and giving him a small smile of gratitude. He looked much better than the last time she saw him, although his face and body were still marked with painful wounds, she noticed they were healing at a much faster rate and his energy seemed to have improved.

"What happened?" She asked him, closing her eyes to pretend she wasn't in a dirty cell with a hungry vampire. Being at school sounded really good right about now.

He sat back onto the floor and leaned against the bars, regarding her closely. She looked exhausted and the wound the vampire had made was horribly jagged and uneven. The smell of the blood was getting to him, and he was finding it hard to remain in close quarters with her but like he'd said, he could control it.

"I drained him... the one who attacked you. His name was Noah. I have encountered him once before, he was young and inexperienced... hence the savage bite on your neck." He gestured towards the wound, his voice turning dark. "He was turned by an acquaintance of mine, but has nothing to do with me and if I had enough strength I would have killed the idiot on the spot." His eyes were narrowed, and he angrily remembered what happened in the arena.

"I figured, hey if I'm going to do something stupid like save a human, I might as well get a meal out of it. Vampire blood isn't as tasty as human blood though... In fact it's rather degrading to have one drink another's blood." He grimaced at the thought of it, but was glad to have gained strength through the younger one's blood. It felt amazing to finally have more than enough energy to move... to actually be able to fight again.

"I didn't get very far... he was rendered unconscious when Stef finally decided to join the fight, and I was about to rip his head off when there was an ambush." His voice was low now, and his eyes were on the ground as he aggressively remembered the moment he knew things were over for them.

"Twenty or so different vampires came out of nowhere and I was fully ready to kill them all when one of the interfering witches got involved and did that stupid little witchy trick of the brain so intensely that I think it rendered us unconscious." He shook his head in annoyance, his face twitching slightly and his hands were tightly clenched indicating his irritation at the situation. Elena wanted so badly to put her hands over his, and soothe the irritation but stopped herself and focused in on his voice.

"I think the prison has been invaded..." He trailed off, looking at Elena intensely. Her eyes were open now and she was hanging on his every word.

"And it definitely wasn't by anyone I've ever met or had an alliance with..." He looked confused about that fact, as if he was trying so hard to figure out what had actually happened. "Noah wasn't the fighting type... He was a pawn used in the search for something... they would never have sent him to do a prison takeover..." Secretly, Damon believed there had been two groups involved. The one he knew of and one that was much more deadly, if they had formed an alliance with werewolves then no vampire or human were safe. However, Elena didn't need to know that.

Elena shook her head trying to take it all in. He talked about violence and killing like it was an everyday thing...perhaps for him, it was. She found that very sad and immediately thought of her own happy upbringing which immediately perked her up.

"Don't worry, once my father hears about this he will come and get us. Everything will be fine!" She happily smiled at him, for once glad about her father's status in the vampire world.

Damon smirked sadly, her innocence was amusing. She didn't seem to understand that there was no 'us'. There was Elena, and then the two evil vampire prison inmates she somehow became trapped with.

"Elena... "Her name rolled off his tongue so sweetly and innocently, and he stared at her intently although his blue eyes were stormy and he appeared to be battling something.

"... Your father isn't coming for you. I believe that he was over powered when protecting the prison. He may also be in a cell just like us. Or..."He couldn't say what he was about to say. Not that he cared about her feelings but, it would break her if she thought her father had been killed. Given that it was near impossible to kill an original, it had been tried and tried before and each time the vampire who had attempted it was thrown into the prison and tortured mercifully until the end of time.

He should know.

Elena felt her eyes watering, as she took in Damon's sombre expression. Her father was protecting the prison! That's where he had been for the past three days; he hadn't left her alone he was attempting to keep her safe! And she had run straight into the danger willingly. The tears were falling down her face now, and she turned her head away from him, feeling as if her heart were breaking she didn't know what to do. Bonnie and her father, the two most important people in her life were missing and possibly in danger, someone had decided to leave her alive and keep her in here, and someone wanted her because she was a doppelganger.

_Doppelganger..._

"Damon... "She whispered "Why did that vampire say I was a doppelganger? What does that have to do with you?" Her piercing brown eyes bore into his, and he felt something akin to shame at what he had to eventually tell her; which was absurd since Damon Salvatore had switched off his emotions a hundred and forty years ago.

Stefan turned from his spot in the cell and looked directly at him. "Yeah Damon, tell your new pet what it has to do with you" His voice was angry and mocking, and Damon felt like ripping his head off for degrading her like that. Human blood did strange things to his naive little brother. She wasn't his pet... he didn't know what she was but she could hold her own against him which gave him immense respect for the girl.

And she certainly didn't need to hear anything about their past, he wasn't going to kill her and he certainly wasn't going to hand her over to Katherine or...Klaus.

_Klaus_.

Damon had a sinking feeling he knew who had taken over the prison... no one was safe. Least of all his new pet, he thought, before angrily realising his mistake. He growled and directed a glare in Stefan's direction.

"Shut the hell up Stefan."

**A/N: So sorry it's taken some time to come. I couldn't put into words what I wanted too, so I guess now anything's possible. I do hope you liked this chapter! Stefan's going a bit loopy from the blood!**

**Please please please review, it makes my day sooo much! Any contributions to the story are also welcome, new ideas outside my own head would be amazing! Thoughts on what's happening so far, what you think Damon and Stefan's involvement is, and whaat? Isn't Klaus supposed to be on John's side! **

**Thank you all so much**

**xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

Her eyes were trained on his, intently watching his face as it battled with his supposedly non-existent emotions. Elena knew she should be afraid, terrified at the situation on hand... but right now all she wanted was to hear Damon speak about who he was, and why he was here... the enigma that had eluded her since their meeting.

She slowly moved closer to him, eyes still connected with his and quietly raised her hand and ran it tenderly down his spoiled but healing face. She marvelled at his perfect features and chiselled cheek bones and felt him lean ever so slightly into her touch and smiled gently to herself, he was a tough character to judge and his personality seemed to be shaped around the wall he'd built up. He didn't need to be alone, she wanted to know him, she wanted him to be able to trust her and she wanted him to have a friend in this twisted and crazy world he was trapped in.

Damon felt her touch... it was the softest and sweetest thing he'd felt in a very long time, perhaps ever. Something stirred in him, and he realised he was feeling a lot more than a sadistic vampire should; it troubled him... it confused him... it was a foreign feeling and he didn't like it! Suddenly, he was on the other side of the room, baring his fangs and growling savagely at her. She looked at him in bewilderment, her feelings slightly hurt from his blatant rejection.

"Don't come near me Elena! It's not safe,_ I'm_ not safe." He narrowed his eyes, which had transformed once again into the blood shot and vein strained mess Stefan's had been only minutes before. Her eyes connected with his and she assured herself there was nothing to be afraid of, he _wouldn't_ hurt her, he was pushing her away on purpose.

"Kill me then Damon" She stared him down, her heart only barely picking up a pace. After everything that had recently happened, being killed by Damon was the least of her worries, and as bad as it was – she was putting forth a test. A test of the vampires true nature; was he actually the unfeeling, narcissistic and sarcastic being he portrayed himself to be, or did he actually possess emotion?

The small cell was deadly silent, Stefan had gone back to brooding and was paying no attention at all to the two, appearing not to care whether Elena lived or died by Damon's hands. Of course he would have preferred to have her blood for himself, but Damon had staked his claim on the girl.

"Just stay away from me! It's not hard human; it means don't touch me, don't look at me, and don't speak to me! The sooner you are killed, the better off my life will be!" He growled again, his voice was rigid and his eyes unbreakable from their hold of hers. Damon felt a small fleeting twinge of guilt, seeing the pain in her eyes which quickly vanished and was followed by a flash of defiance. He was getting in too deep already, he could read her and she could, to some extent, read him... he wasn't supposed to care...

"So Damon Salvatore, you want me to stay away from you? The next time you're in the process of dying from hunger or getting burnt alive, I'll just walk on by and stay away from you?" She was angry at his words, after what they'd been through together and the progress she thought she was making with him. They were trapped together in a prison cell, awaiting an unforeseeable end and he was suddenly choosing to act like he didn't care whether she lived or died?

Her head snapped back angrily and she stood up fists clenched at her side "You know what, I am so much better than you! I am Jonathon Gilbert's daughter; I have an adopted family in Mystic Falls who love me and friends that care for me, and look at you... "Her voice took on a spiteful notion and she glared at him "...you are a lonely and bitter vampire who has probably never had anyone that loves or cares about him, with multiple confusing personalities and some twisted horrible past! I should never have risked _my_ life for the likes of_ yours_!" The silence stretched out as she realised what she'd said... this was not the turn they were supposed to take and she felt horrible for acting like she was the high and mighty and he was nothing.

"Yes Elena, that is exactly right!" He smiled darkly, and turned away from her facing the wall just like his brooding brother. "My un-dead life isn't worth anything. I don't want or need anyone; my existence is just that – an existence. I have a purpose and it's almost been fulfilled and I'm damn happy about it because then I can go back to being fucking me and draining the likes of you!" His voice had gained volume with each passing second and he was close to yelling at her.

Turning back he looked at her reaction and scoffed at the way she was pretending to be intimidating. Standing there, glaring at him with the expression of stone plastered firmly on her face. She was like a kitten trying to be a lion... he gave her points for the fight she was putting up. For the fight she'd shown him ever since they'd met... she truly was the most amazing and intriguing human he'd ever come across; granted that he barely took the time to know any before her but she was _special._

"No Damon that came out wrong. I don't think that! You just make me so mad! Being evil isn't you! You saved me... twice so far." She reminded him, desperate now, after condemning him as being nothing... she needed to convince him otherwise. He looked over at her, his face was masked.

"Kitten... being evil is the only me! And the sooner you realise that, and stop trying to get into my life, the easier everything is going to be!" He was losing control of the situation and his emotions; she was bringing out his defences but tearing them down at the same time.

"He's right... There's Damon and whoever Damon is using... and those people always end up dead." Stefan piped up from his corner and turned around to witness the fight going on, as Damon turned on him a shadow arrived at the cell and Elena was staring back at the three, a sadistic smile on her perfect face.

"Katherine?" Stefan asked in surprise, trying to suppress the slight happiness it gave him seeing her.

"Hello boys... I see you have my perfect copy with you, now that's an accomplishment if I ever did see one!" She uttered in a light, carefree tone and glanced down at Elena, who looked from Damon back to Katherine in shock.

"How...how is this possible?" She was staring at the exact version of herself, had heard her voice come from those lips, it was her eyes staring back her...it was like looking at her identical twin. Only, Elena _knew_ that she didn't have one.

"My dear, how is anything possible?" Elena's own voice replied back to her silkily, and she now knew what Noah had meant...

_Doppelganger._

"Damon, please restrain her and follow me...Stefan, oh how I've missed you darling. I heard about your near death experience, it really did worry me..." She walked into the cell, high heels clicking together on the hard ground, the sound echoing around the small room and placed one hand on Stefan's cheek. "Please take care of yourself on the next mission." She said quietly, and kissed him lightly on the other cheek. Elena saw Damon wince out of the corner of her eye, and although deeply terrified and extremely confused she realised he must have feelings after all... for her double.

"What the hell are you waiting for? You are very pretty to look at, but very fucking stupid Damon." Katherine turned around and glared at Damon, Elena's pretty eye's masked with hatred and power. "Get the girl" She ordered and walked back out of the cell.

Damon narrowed his eyes angrily but refrained from making a comment; Katherine was his maker and therefore could cause him immense pain if he disobeyed her. As much as he hated bowing down to anyone, his lesson had been learnt over many years of defiance and disobedience. Damon had tried many a time to escape from the women he thought he loved, but she had always found him...and used him for many of her power trip escapades. This however, was proving to be the biggest yet and Damon had no idea how Katherine had gained command of the prison... but after all, the sneaky bitch did love to surprise.

Elena looked at him sadly, and saw the way his eyes hardened as he refused to meet her questioning gaze and grabbed her wrists firmly, securing them behind her back and forcing her forward. Elena let herself be pushed; she was exhausted from blood loss and her argument with Damon. Her test had failed... Damon was who he portrayed himself to be and it disappointed and upset her a lot more than it should have.

But it seemed she had found the person who had made him the way he was...

She had just never expected it to be herself.

**A/N: Thanks so much to those who did review, I couldn't remember if I replied to you or not (extremely sorry if I didn't, I appreciate each and every comment so very much!)... this week has been tough and my mind has been elsewhere... thought writing another chapter might cheer me up a little and it has! So yay! ... Promise to reply to each and every person this time, if you take the time to leave me a little message, it'd make me so happy ****...**


	9. Chapter 9

They wandered down the cold corridor, it was night time now and all Elena wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep until this was all over. Her recent activities had left her exhausted, and she was driving herself crazy trying to put together the picture that appeared to be her life. It was in tatters now, and not one single thing really remained the same.

She missed her father, she needed him at a time like this to be strong for her and tell her he was going to fix everything. John always fixed everything; it was his job as well as his duty. She had truly thought nothing could ever be stronger than her father; he was supposedly the strongest vampire who lived – aside from Klaus and Elijah. She had heard of attacks on him that ended extremely badly for whoever had attempted it, surely he was somewhere safe and doing his best to find her. This thought elected a small smile from Elena, she knew John would come through for her, he always did.

With Damon's grip on her arms still steel tight, Elena had no choice but to keep walking as the trio followed the maniacal young women who radiated confidence and strength. Although the physical similarities were spot on, their personalities were vastly different and Elena could never imagine herself to grow so cold and detached, she could see it but was not going to believe it.

The girl appeared to have Stefan and Damon under lock and key, and it was obvious that they had somehow been sent to the prison to capture her. She was disgusted with the way she had easily trusted Damon, and thought him to be different from the rest, if anything – he was worse. Vampires didn't have hearts, she knew that. But a few still held onto their humanity and she had believed that Damon might have done that.

The lesson had been learnt – don't trust vampires who are in prison.

_A bit too late now,_ she thought wryly to herself.

Katherine had arrived at a large steel door, easily pushing it open she strode forward, motioning for Damon to bring Elena with them. Glancing around she saw they were in a large room, similar to that of a meeting room but without furniture. About twenty people were scattered around, all seemed to be looking only at her. She shivered, some of the looks were that of pure hunger and she realised they were all vampires.

_What a surprise there._

Damon's growl snapped her out of her thoughts, and she realised everyone had backed away and were now avoiding eye contact.

_So he is good for something_. Her thoughts were not that of someone who was afraid, in fact Elena was so emotionally drained that she really was only holding onto one emotion – Anger. At herself for getting into this mess, at Damon for being so much like every other vampire, and at the girl who had stolen her appearance.

The only piece of furniture was that of a large chair, that was occupied directly in front of them... with someone that Elena knew very well.

"Klaus?" She whispered, as his stare was turned upon her intensely, almost as if he could see inside her soul. It was unnerving and she vaguely wondered where her father was, and registered that perhaps now she was safe, Klaus would take her to her father and tell her everything that had happened was just a big misunderstanding.

"Klaus?" Damon groaned from behind her. "Kathy, out of all the people you decide to bond with..." His tone of voice was tired, as if he was fed up with Katherine and her surprises. Katherine turned around, smiling sinfully.

"We made up" She grinned, "Common goal and all..." Her smile was intimidating, and Elena felt extremely out of place to see it turned on her, to see herself wearing such a look. Damon made a sound of disgust but made no more comment and they both stopped walking to look at Klaus. His stare was still focused upon Elena, analysing her and making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Release her!" His tone was menacing and his glare was turned on Damon, who reluctantly let go of her wrists. Elena bought them forward rubbing them subconsciously and turned around to glower at him. She was shocked to see his expression as one of regret, his blue eyes were looking at her almost sadly, and she thought for a second about how his eyes always betrayed his emotions without him realising it.

"Come here little one" Klaus's voice echoed around the very silent room, as he beckoned Elena forward, his grin was akin to that of a crazy man. Elena stared him straight in the eye to show she was not afraid and began to walk towards him, more confidently than she felt. She stopped a short distance from him and still maintaining eye contact began to speak.

"Where's my father Klaus? This is all a big misunderstanding right...?" Her voice shook a little but the questions she had wanted answered were now out there, and she hoped the reply was positive.

Klaus continued to look at her, perhaps now with astonishment and slight apprehension.

"Oh my sweet Elena... Jonathan certainly did a good job with you." The statement confused her, and the blatant disregard for her questions angered her, she took another step forward and glared at him angrily.

"Where is my father Klaus?" She spoke from the heart, missing her father was at the top of her list now and a dull ache in her chest had formed indicating the loss. The blonde vampire was visually about thirty two years old, he was attractive with natural blonde hair and perfectly straight teeth. Like Jonathan he kept up with the times, and was wearing what looked to be an expensive Armani suit.

Klaus leaned forward in his seat, and motioned Elena to come closer, she did as she was told and he put his mouth right up to her ear.

"Dead" He whispered, drawing it out slowly before gradually leaning back into his chair and taking the time to observe her face as she took in the news.

Elena's heart instantly broke, and the ache in her chest moved to her whole body. She felt like she couldn't breathe and began gasping erratically, attempting to get air into her lungs. The tears had gathered and before she knew it, she had launched herself at the original, managing to get a hold of his face and a slap to his cheek before she was thrown backwards; landing heavily on the ground. Feeling her arms pinned to the side, two vampires had immediately restrained her. Klaus was looking at her, amused and entertained. He hadn't had this much fun in decades.

"Let go of me!" She screamed, tears pouring down her face and struggling unsteadily against the hold upon her. "Let go of me!" She was screaming and choking on her tears, her voice was beginning to become raspy and her arms were sore from the vampires hold. All of a sudden both vampires were on the ground and Damon was facing them, growling menacingly and standing over Elena protectively. He looked down and saw her curl into a ball, still crying and mumbling incoherently.

He didn't know what possessed him to do it; it was just driving him crazy watching her being held down as she struggled to be free. He couldn't stand to see her so upset, not when she'd been so brave throughout everything thus far. He also couldn't believe John was dead... Elena didn't deserve that. He stood glaring at Klaus, ready to fight if it came down to it. The human had cared about him, when she could have just turned and walked the other way, and that was worth something better than this.

Elena heard a loud noise from her broken place on the ground, and looked up to notice Damon on the other side of the room having been thrown into the wall in the blink of an eye. He looked worse for wear, but coolly got up to face who had thrown him, a look of murder in his eyes.

"Do not move if you want to live" The voice was low, and as calm as if he'd just offered tea. Klaus was now beside Elena and directing his statement towards Damon. Katherine was glowering at him with such hatred that if looks could kill, the undead would be truly dead.

"I'm so sorry love; it seems my pet has developed an attitude. Do not fret, I will make sure this doesn't happen again" Katherine was striding up to Damon with revulsion and disgust written firmly upon her features, she yanked him up by the arm and as he struggled he couldn't withdraw it. It was at that moment that Elena realised Katherine was a vampire, and an old one at that. Stefan looked between Katherine and Klaus and appeared to be dealing with something, perhaps he wanted to save Damon from whatever Katherine had planned, but Elena guessed it probably had more to do with the fact that apparently, his girl and Klaus had something going on.

"Katherine, she's your blood; you can't do this to her" His voice was defiant and he angrily looked up at the women he once loved, finding her to look everything but nothing like the innocent girl he'd come to know, the face was pure evil and he wanted nothing more than to drive a stake through her nonexistent heart.

"Since when did you care Salvatore? From what I've heard, you've done things that rivalled even Katherine's greatest moments...I was led to believe you possessed no emotion." Klaus was now looking at him with interest.

"You say care, like it's something I would do. Nope that's not me. I merely wanted the girl's blood for myself and those fools were tainting her with their pathetic touch" He was the one sneering now, maintaining a look of annoyance at being accused of having feelings. Elena was still curled up in a ball, her breathing had slowed and her crying was coming to an end, now reduced to hiccups.

She raised her eyes to look at Damon, he looked so lost...behind the angry smirk he was afraid of Katherine and he seemed to be afraid of what would happen to her now that Klaus had her in his grasp. His eyes betrayed everything his body language fought to hide and through the intense grief she was currently feeling, and the hatred she possessed for him among other things, Elena wanted to take him away from Katherine and teach him that it's okay to feel, and that it's okay to be yourself and trust others. She suddenly grew angry at her doppelganger; everything that was happening right now appeared to be her fault.

Her father was dead, due to someone that looked exactly like his teenage daughter.

Elena rose from her place on the ground, wiping her eyes furiously and staring at Katherine with loathing.

"I am going to stake you, _vampire,"_ She spat out the word hatefully, "If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to watch you slowly crumble and die so you can't hurt anyone else ever again! You destroyed Damon, you're hurting Stefan and although I really shouldn't give a crap – I do! Your actions killed my father, and you're most probably fooling Klaus...your an evil manipulative crazy bitch and I'm ashamed that you look like me!" She was screaming at her now, lost in guilt and anguish, unafraid that she was having a breakdown in front of many hungry vampires.

Katherine looked amused, "Actually sweetheart, you look like me... your _my_ doppelganger remember? And the end for you is approaching shortly, so I'd make good on that promise very quickly if I were you...I dare you to try" She winked happily, oblivious to Elena's pain and turned on Damon.

"Since you were so ready to publically drink from the girl, you can have first taste." She motioned for him to approach Elena and he looked worn out. Although it seemed Katherine had forgotten about his punishment and was now giving him a reward, he knew she was playing a game with him. To see just how much he did care about the girl. He was torn, he did really want to drink from her, she smelled so sweet and delicious but he didn't want to cause her unnecessary pain, if he drank from her he wanted to do it when she was willing.

Wait, he pulled himself back from that train of thought. Elena would never be willing. She hated him. He was the one who had gotten her here in the first place, although it wasn't anything like the original plan, he'd basically sentenced her to death from their very first meeting. Besides, Damon Salvatore always took what he wanted, willing or not and a small human girl who resembled his creator was not going to change that.

He stepped forward away from Katherine and within a flash was beside Elena, his intention was to have a taste but when he looked into her hurt brown eyes he knew he couldn't do it, she didn't deserve this and even someone as heartless as him recognised that.

Luckily, Klaus also had other options having observed the tension between Katherine's pet and his new human sacrifice, he felt like playing a game too. The girl was fun.

"You know what...Mr Salvatore, I think you should accompany Elena to the kitchen, she deserves some human food after all that she's been through recently...Katherine and I need to discuss your upcoming punishment. Oh I am looking forward to seeing you suffer..." A small smile played on his lips, "As for you Elena, I am sorry about John, but he had to be disposed of...he was making too much of a nuisance of himself. The day he decided to have a human child, was the day I wrote him off as being too emotional to lead. What kind of vampire wants a child? It's ridiculous!" Elena felt a small growl coming from her throat, she'd been spending too much time with vampires it seemed and the need to throw herself on Klaus and rip the ugly smile right off his disturbingly beautiful face was very high. She felt a small touch on the lower part of her back, and glancing behind knew it was Damon. Was it wrong to like his touch? She felt protected having him close, and allowed him to lead her out of the room as he followed another vampire to the kitchen.

"Remember children, take no drastic action. The whole place has been spelled. No-one can leave and no-one can get in. See you soon!" His calm and joyful voice drifted after them, and Elena lent back onto Damon relishing in his small but comforting touch.

She could save him, she knew it. If it was the last thing she did, she wanted Damon to experience the feeling of contentment. She knew it was wrong, she knew that she should be mourning her father and attempting to escape even if it was futile, she knew she should be worrying about Bonnie and her family in Mystic Falls. But she wanted to do something good in the last moments of her life- if this was it.

And she'd chosen to save Damon Salvatore from himself.

**A/N: I hope people are still reading this? Not too bored? I was thinking about stopping, if people aren't really that into the story anymore? I love the reviews I have gotten! But writing is pretty hard for me, it's not a hobby or anything, I kinda hafta force myself to do it and I get so confused on how to write like everyone else on here! I just feel like it's not measuring up! ...**

**Is John really dead? Where is Bonnie? And more importantly...What does Klaus have planned for poor Damon? Hmmmm ?**


	10. Chapter 10

"So..._Elena_" The tension was thick and after fixing Elena a sandwich and filling up on the blood bags conveniently located beside the milk in the fridge, Damon was fast running out of things to do. He desperately wanted to find some way of escape, but knew that Klaus wouldn't have been kidding about spelling the place so they couldn't leave. That was probably the only reason he gave them free reign, that or he had desperately wanted them out of his way... to have his way with Katherine. Those two had been at it for years, in between Katherine's running and Klaus's death threats the pair's sexual escapades could very well rival his own.

Elena looked up at him with tears in her eyes, she had been crying for the past two hours, sitting at the extravagant table in what Damon assumed was the living room quietly sobbing over John. He had no idea what to do and had taken a seat as far away from her as possible, he'd simply pretended she wasn't there, delving into his own thoughts and debating whether or not to attempt to kill Klaus and if Katherine would pose a problem.

"What Damon?" She asked quietly, wiping her eyes and staring at him thoughtfully.

"Thank you." He replied, "For you know...helping me" The words were tough to get out, he cringed at how pathetic he sounded. He was a vampire; he didn't need a human's help to do anything... except provide the blood he craved so desperately.

_Except you did, _a voice replied in his head, which he immediately pushed away. She looked surprised, and he wanted to send a silent prayer to the non-existent god that she was no longer crying, the sound had really been grating on his nerves.

_And you wanted to comfort her, but couldn't._ The voice came forward to correct him and once again he tossed it aside, he hadn't wanted to comfort anyone ever, certainly not this human.

"Oh...your welcome... thanks for what you did before..." She replied awkwardly, now that she had been distracted from thinking about her father she realised just how out of depth it would have been for him to be around her, from what she'd noticed he hadn't been around humans for a long period of time and didn't know how to act.

He simply nodded and the two sat in silence for some time, both lost in their own thoughts.

"What was your human life like Damon?" Elena suddenly asked him, it was a question he really had never answered, and found it difficult to reply.

"Dismal" He settled on, of course it wasn't all bad but he found it hard to remember a time when he was last happy... perhaps that was because it would have been over a hundred and forty five years ago. Elena looked saddened at his answer, and he immediately wanted to take back his reply. Leave it up to him to make the miserable girl even sadder.

"Why?" She asked again, moving closer to the chair directly beside him. She looked genuinely interested, and he'd noticed that not once had her face resembled that of Katherine's. She was kind at all times, had never been hostile towards him; her face had never contorted into disgust at the sight of him. She appeared to genuinely care about him. He was surprised, no one had bothered with him in a very long time and he felt like he owed it to her to be honest- if she were that interested of course.

He focused in on her, marvelling at how close she'd willingly came to him.

"I just never found true happiness" He responded thoughtfully, "My mother was the last person I was really happy with, and I was very young at the time so its highly unaccountable... things went downhill after she died" He felt a long lost pang at the thought, but quickly shook it away. His mother had been the most important person to him, not that he'd ever admitted it to anyone.

He felt a light touch and looked down to find Elena had grabbed his hand with hers and was staring up at him with sorrow in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Damon" She said softly, wrapping her fingers around his, "You deserve to be happy, everyone does." Her eyes were really getting to him, it was like she could see into his soul and he didn't like that; he ripped his hand away feeling horrible as he did so.

"Elena, I'm not good for you to be around. I'm a monster! I kill people. I take loved ones away from their families, I terrorise young girls just like you – for fun! I'm a vampire Elena; it's in my nature to destroy...I'm not good, and I'm sorry if you thought anything different." He paused to see the hurt in her eyes before continuing onward, "When I find us a way out of here, you need to stay away from me, I'll only ever hurt you...it's all I've ever done."

"But is that who _you_ want to be?" Elena questioned, angry that he was giving up on himself so early. He wasn't a monster and she needed him to realise that what she saw was completely different to what everyone else saw.

"You're afraid of Katherine" She stated, bringing her face close to his, he attempted to move away but she grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at her in the eye. His vampire face was beginning to appear and she knew he was losing control.

"Damon, look at me! You could have snapped my neck at any second the entire time we've been around each other, but you haven't and it's been your own decision! If Katherine told you to kill me, would you do it?" He'd remained silent, the only sign he was listening to her was when he turned away again, ashamed that his emotions were getting the better of him and afraid to show her his true vampire face up close, she wouldn't ever go near him again.

Elena sighed and caressed his face gently, sweeping her hand over the veins and over his lips, she forced his head around gently, and continued to touch his face until it resumed to normal. He was breathing heavily and fighting with himself to stay in place, he wanted so badly to run but her touch had consumed him and he couldn't leave, she had touched him so gently and with such care that he realised she wasn't afraid... she wanted to comfort him. His fangs contracted and his eyes became blue again, and he looked at her intensely.

"I would fight anyone and everyone to make sure you were safe. Katherine can hurt me all she wants Elena, I wouldn't kill you." He looked shocked at the admission and although unneeded, his breathes were beginning to speed up and become heavy again.

"I don't know _why _I care; you're just a human...I should have killed you the second I had you in my grasp back in the cells... you should be _afraid_ of me, you should _hate_ me!" He spat out, angry now that he was losing control of the situation, the girl was bringing back feelings he'd long since shut out... feeling them was one thing but _talking_ about them? _Admitting_ them out loud? That was an entirely different story and he felt extremely out of place and angry that he couldn't figure out why he was so drawn to her. The feel of her hand on his face before was better than anything he'd ever felt, and he didn't understand why something so simple could throw him so off track.

She smiled slightly, and slowly bought her head down to rest it on his shoulder. He immediately froze and stopped breathing all together. Not knowing what to do with the sudden contact - he hadn't let anyone come this close to him in decades. He fed, fucked and fled. That was the rule with woman and humans in general, close willing contact never factored in.

He could heard her heart beating faster and smell the blood pumping in her system, but the thrill of the kill had left him and he slowly wrapped an arm around her back, awkwardly and unsure if he was doing the right thing.

"Get the hell over here and stop fooling around with the human, it's time for your punishment – and I am oh so looking forward to it!" Katherine's narcissistic voice entered the living room and Damon immediately sprang away from Elena, his fangs coming out at the sight of his vampire mistress as she glided through the door.

"Hello sweets; how I've missed you! Come give your girl a kiss" Her tone of voiced switched to that of a needy girlfriend and she moved closer to Damon, as he eyed her warily. Elena was staring at her doppelganger in disbelief, awed at how she played the game with him. She treated him horribly, and to her shock Damon fell for it, leaning in to give her a long drawn out kiss that made Elena's heart stop with shock.

**A/N: Wow, I was so blown away by the feedback I received to the last chapter! Thank you so much to everyone that supports me and this story! It's really nice to know that people are reading it and liking the plot so far, I've finally realised why reviews are so important, they motivate and inspire authors and thank you to each and every one who reviewed! This chapter is for you! Almost at 100, something I never thought I'd achieve, shall we try get there after I just gave everyone a slight Delena moment? **


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